Fighting the "silent epidemic". Hospital launches comprehensive program against domestic violence

In 1991, when Sacred Heart Medical Center, Spokane, WA, launched its Domestic Violence Task Force, the group's members soon discovered that few U.S. hospitals had policies on domestic violence. So they created one. They decided to address three interrelated areas: public education, professional education, and the care of patients who are domestic violence victims. First, the group wrote a booklet introducing the public to the battering phenomenon. Second, to show medical professionals how to identify battering victims and intervene on their behalf, the group produced a video and organized conferences and training sessions. Third, the task force rewrote hospital policy to ensure appropriate treatment for patients who are victims of domestic violence. Other organizations, including the U.S. Air Force, are using the task force's video. Sacred Heart has been given several awards for its work against battering. The task force is currently developing guidelines on domestic violence in the workplace.